1.
Byzantine Empire
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It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD

2.
Agathias
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Agathias was a native of Myrina. A brother of Agathias is mentioned in sources, but his name has not survived. Their probable sister Eugenia is known by name, the Suda clarifies that Agathias was active in the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian I, mentioning him as a contemporary of Paul the Silentiary, Macedonius of Thessalonica and Tribonian. Agathias mentions being present in Alexandria as a law student at the time when an earthquake destroyed Berytus, the law school of Berytus had been recognized as one of the three official law schools of the empire. Within a few years, as the result of the earthquake of 551. The dating of the event to 551, as a law student, Agathias could be in his early twenties and he mentions leaving Alexandria for Constantinople shortly following the earthquake. Agathias visited the island of Kos, where he witnessed the devastation caused by the earthquake and he returned to Constantinople in 554 to finish his training, and practised as an advocatus in the courts. John of Epiphania reports that Agathias practiced his profession in the capital, evagrius Scholasticus and Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos describe Agathias as a rhetor. The Suda and a passage of John of Nikiû call him Agathias the scholastic and he is known to have served as pater civitatis of Smyrna. He is credited with constructing public latrines for the city, while Agathias mentions these buildings, he fails to mention his own role in constructing them. Myrina is known to have erected statues to honor Agathias, his father Memnonius and he seems to have been known to his contemporaries more as an advocatus and a poet. There are few mentions of Agathias as a historian, few details survive of his personal life – mainly in his extant poems. One of them tells the story of his pet cat eating his partridge, another responds to his seeing the tomb of the courtesan Lais of Corinth, implying a visit to that city, which he refers to using the poetic name Ephyra. No full account of his life survives, literature, however, was Agathias favorite pursuit, and he remains best known as a poet. Of his Daphniaca, a collection of poems in hexameter on love and romance in nine books. This work largely survives in the Greek Anthology—the edition by Maximus Planudes preserves examples not found elsewhere, Agathiass poems exhibit considerable taste and elegance. He also wrote notes on the Description of Greece of Pausanias. Almost equally valued are Agathiass Histories, which he started in the reign of Justin II and he explains his own motivation in writing it, as simply being unwilling to let the momentous events of his own times go unrecorded

3.
Ahimaaz ben Paltiel
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Ahimaaz ben Paltiel was an Graeco-Italian liturgical poet and author of a family chronicle. Very little is known about his life and he came of a family some of whose members are well known in Jewish literature as scholars and poets, for example, Shefatya ben Amitai, Hananiel ben Amittai, and his nephew Amittai ben Shephatiah. Ahimaaz had two sons, Paltiel and Samuel, the family tree of this clan is given by Ahimaaz in his Chronicle, Benjamin of Tudela mentions an Ahimaaz ben Paltiel in Amalfi in southern Italy, in the year 1162. This may well have been a descendant of his earlier namesake, in a list of twenty-two selihah poets, Ahimaaz ben Paltiel is mentioned as the author of two poems, and a Mahzor of the Roman rite attributes to him a selihah for the Fast of Esther. Only one manuscript of the Chronicle is known to exist, it is in the library of the cathedral at Toledo, Spain. According to the traditions preserved by Ahimaaz, his family had its origin among the captives whom Titus brought to Italy after the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem by the Romans. The first person he mentions is Amittai of Oria, whom he calls sabbar and payyat, a man versed in Talmudic halakha, Ahimaaz closes with short accounts of Hananiel, of his son Samuel in Capua, and of Paltiel ben Samuel, father of the author himself. The unique manuscript in Toledo bears the name of Menahem ben Benjamin in its signature and it is uncertain whether the word used there, refers to the composition or to the copying of the work. There is no evidence that Ahimaaz made use of any literary records, in describing the activity of the vizier Paltiel, he refers to the Chronicles of Egypt as containing further data on the subject. Even in this case it is improbable that he has any work in mind. The body of the Chronicle contains no dates, a few are to be found in the last two sections, part of which may be, as stated above, a later addition, the Chronicle of Ahimaaz is, however, of interest from another point of view. It is full of accounts of wonderful deeds and of superhuman efforts, the tale is told of the Sefer ha-Merkabah, a wonderful book from which Shephatiah draws his knowledge of heavens mysteries, before this book a light burned upon the Sabbath day. The power of Paltiel as an astrologer is dwelt upon, it was this power which, in a measure, in this Chronicle are also found the first traces of the story of the Wandering Jew. Filled as it is with legends, one would be tempted to disregard the Chronicle as a historical source. The language in which the Chronicle is written out this view. Nor are evidences wanting of the influence of the Arabic and the Romance languages, from the rime one can also learn the pronunciation of Hebrew in the days of the author. The Chronicle contains an elegy on Paltiel, which has a double alphabetic acrostic. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain

4.
Michael Attaleiates
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Michael Attaleiates or Attaliates was a Byzantine public servant and historian active in Constantinople and around the empires provinces in the second half of the eleventh century. He was a contemporary of Michael Psellos and likely an older colleague of John Skylitzes. Michael Attaleiates was probably a native of Attaleia and moved to Constantinople between 1030 and 1040 to pursue studies in law, during years of service in the empires judicial system he built a small private fortune. Prominence on the bench also brought him to the attention of a number of emperors who rewarded him with some of the highest honours available to civil servants. In 1072 Attaleiates compiled for Emperor Michael VII a synopsis of law, known as the Ponema Nomikon, in addition he drew up an Ordinance for the Poor House and Monastery which he founded at Constantinople in the mid-1070s. This work, known as the Diataxis, is of value for students of the social, economic, cultural and religious history of Byzantium in Constantinople and it also provides invaluable information regarding the life of Attaleiates himself. It includes a catalogue of the books available in the library, while also offering details about the founders fortune in the capital. From the Diataxis we learn that Attaleiates owned numerous properties in Constantinople, Raidestos, around 1079/80 Michael Attaleiates circulated The History, a political and military history of the Byzantine Empire from 1034 to 1079. The History concludes with a long encomium to Emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates, on account of this encomium and dedication, Attaleiates was for years considered an honest supporter of this elderly and largely ineffective emperor. Careful reading of his text, however, suggests that the words of praise may be less than honest, instead Attaleiates appears to be partial towards the young military commander and future emperor Alexios Komnenos. Attaleiates probably died around 1080, shortly before the beginning of the Komnenian era and he therefore had no chance to rededicate his work to the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, Alexios I Komnenos, whom The History treats as a potential saviour of the Byzantine state. He was outlived by his son Theodore, who died sometime before 1085. Their bodies, along with those of the two wives, Eirene and Sophia, were put to rest on the grounds of the church of St. George of the Cypresses in the southwestern side of Constantinople. This was the area where the familys Constantinopolitan estates were likely clustered, close to the monastery of Christ Panoikteirmon, one may still visit the church of St George, which today, after two fires and extensive reconstruction, bears no resemblance to the church of Attaleiates day. Attaleiates’ History is a consciously constructed account of Byzantine military decline, the authors turn to the past is not, however, a sign of idle antiquarianism. This is not an attempt on Attaleiates part to impress the reader with a display of erudition, instead, in the civic virtue of The Historys Republican heroes the reader detects a quest for a new Roman patriotism that would take the empire out of the crisis. At the same time history-writing allows Attaleiates to reflect on the empire’s troubled present through the prism of the past in a manner that hints at his ability to plan for an uncertain future, the History therefore confirms the authors status as a politically engaged official and competent imperial advisor. From the first lines of The History Attaleiates explains to his readers that he will be seeking the causes behind the various historical events presented in his work and this programmatic statement is taken very seriously by the historian throughout his work

5.
Laonikos Chalkokondyles
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Laonikos Chalkokondyles, Latinized as Laonicus Chalcondyles, was a Byzantine Greek historian from Athens. He is known for his Histories in ten books, which record the last 150 years of the Byzantine Empire, Chalkokondyles was a member of a prominent family of Athens, which was ruled by the Acciaioli. His father George was a kinsman of Maria Melissene, the wife of Duke Antonio I Acciaioli, however, during his absence, the Duchess was enticed out of the Acropolis and a young scion of the Acciaiuoli family, Nerio II, was proclaimed Duke of Athens. Meanwhile, George Chalkokondyles had his proposal rejected, despite offering the Sultan 30,000 gold pieces, George with Laonikos and the rest of the family relocated to the Peloponnese. The one glimpse we have of Laonikos himself is in the summer of 1447, Cyriacus describes him as a youth egregie latinis atque grecis litteris eruditum. It was at Mistra where Laonikos was taught by George Gemistos Plethon,70.6, written in 1318, with corrections by Plethon, and later used by Bessarion in 1436 to make another copy, contains a subscription written by Laonikos. Laonikos movements and actions after 1447 are not known with certainty, internal evidence has led Anthony Kaldellis to put the date Laonikos stopped writing his Histories as 1464. Other speculations about Laonikos Chalkokondyles life are not as widely accepted, after Skanderbeg leaves the Ottoman army and becomes leader of Albania on his own right, Chalkokondyles is brought as a hostage to his court to witness the First Siege of Krujë. After the destruction of Constantinople, Chalkokondyles wrote his most important historical work and this historical work comprises one of the most important sources for the students of the final 150 years of Byzantine history, despite being defective in its chronology. The capture of Constantinople he rightly regarded as an event of far-reaching importance. The work also sketches other manners and civilization of England, France and Germany, for his account of earlier events he was able to obtain information from his father. His model is Thucydides, his language is pure and correct. The text, however, is in a corrupt state. The archaic language he used made his texts hard to read in parts, while the antiquarian names, with which he named people of his time. The extended use of the name Hellenes, which Laonikos used to describe the Byzantines contributed to the connection made between the ancient Greek civilization and the modern one. Chalkokondyles History was first published in a Latin translation by Conrad Clauser at Basel in 1556, a French translation was published by Blaise de Vigenère in 1577 with a later edition by Artus Thomas, with valuable illustrations on Turkish matters. The editio princeps of the Greek text had to wait until 1615 for J. B, the two best editions are, Historiarum Libri Decem, ed. I. Bekker, Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae and Historiae Demonstrationes,2 vols, the text can also be found in J. -P

6.
Niketas Choniates
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Nicetas wrote a history of the Eastern Roman Empire from 1118 to 1207. Niketas Akominatos was born to wealthy parents around or after 1150 in Phrygia in the city of Chonae, bishop Nicetas of Chonae baptized and named the infant, later he was called Choniates after his birthplace. When he was nine, his father dispatched him with his brother Michael to Constantinople to receive an education, Niketas older brother greatly influenced him during the early stages of his life. He initially secured a post in the service, and held important appointments under the Angelos emperors and was governor of the theme of Philippopolis at a critical period. His chief work is his History, in books, of the period from 1118 to 1207. In spite of its style, it is of value as a record of events of which he was either an eyewitness or which he had heard of first hand. Its most interesting portion is the description of the occupation of Constantinople in 1204 and his little treatise On the Statues destroyed by the Latins is of special interest to the archaeologist and art historian. His theological work, although extant in a form in manuscripts, has only been published in part. It is one of the authorities for the heresies and heretical writers of the 12th century. Umberto Ecos novel Baudolino is set partly at Constantinople during the Crusader conquest, the imaginary hero, Baudolino, saves Niketas during the sacking of Constantinople, and then proceeds to confide his life story to him. Niketas is a character in Alan Gordons murder mystery A Death in the Venetian Quarter. Imperii Graeci Historia, ed. Hieronymus Wolf,1557, in Greek with parallel Latin translation, J. P. Migne reproduces Wolfs text and translation. Nicetae Choniatae Historia, ed. Immanuel Bekker, Bonn,1835, nicetae Choniatae Historia, ed. Jan Louis van Dieten, Berlin,1975. O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates, trans, «Ἀνδρόνικος ὁ Κομνηνὸς καὶ Ὀδυσσεύς», Ἐπετηρὶς Ἑταιρείας Βυζαντινῶν Σπουδῶν37 251–259. A seminal work on Choniates use of Homer, brand, Charles M. Byzantium Confronts the West,1968. Harris, Jonathan, Byzantium and the Crusades, Bloomsbury, 2nd ed.2014, distortion, divine providence and genre in Nicetas Choniates account of the collapse of Byzantium 1180–1204, Journal of Medieval History, vol.26 19–31. Niketas Choniates, A Historian and a Writer,2009, ISBN 978-954-8446-05-1 Excerpt in English on the Sack of Constantinople in 1204, a longer excerpt on the same. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Acominatus

8.
George Hamartolos
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George Hamartolos or Hamartolus was a monk at Constantinople under Michael III and the author of a chronicle of some importance. It is a common form among Byzantine monks, krumbacher protests against the use of this epithet as a name and proposes the form Georgios Monachos. Nothing is known about him except from the evidence of his work. The chronicle consists of four books, the chronicle is the only original contemporary authority for the years 813–842, and therefore so far indispensable. As usually in the case of medieval chronicles, the only part to be taken seriously is the account of more or less contemporary events. The rest is interesting as an example of Byzantine ideas on the subjects, George describes his ideal and principles in the preface. But of so great a mass of material he has chosen only what is most useful, in effect, the questions that seemed most useful and necessary to ecclesiastical persons at Constantinople in the ninth century are those that are discussed. There are copious pious reflections and theological excursuses and he writes of how idols were invented, the origin of monks, the religion of the Saracens, and especially of the Iconoclast controversy that had just ended. Like all monks he hates iconoclasts, the violence with which he speaks of them shows how recent the storm had been and how the memory of iconoclast persecutions was still fresh when he wrote. He writes out long extracts from Greek Fathers, the first book treats of an astonishingly miscellaneous collection of persons — Adam, Nimrod, the Persians, Chaldees, Brahmins, Amazons, etc. In the second book, too, although it professes to deal with Bible history only, he has much to say about Plato, Hamartolus ended his chronicle with the year 842, as a colophon in most manuscripts attests. In these additions, religious questions are relegated to the background, more attention is devoted to history. Still further continuations of little value go down to 1143 and it was soon translated into Church Slavonic and also in Georgian by Arsen of Iqalto. In these versions it became a sort of fountain-head for all early Slavonic historians, in Maxima bibliotheca Paris,1685, reprinted, Venice,1729. The last part of Book IV of the chronicle and the continuation, georgii monachi, dicti Hamartoli, Chronicon ab orbe condito ad annum p. chr.842 et a diversis scriptoribus usq. ad ann.1143 continuatum. The first edition of the whole work and it does not represent the original text, but one of the many modified versions, and is in many ways deficient and misleading. Reprint of the edition, with a Latin translation. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles

9.
John of Epiphania
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John of Epiphania was a late sixth century Byzantine historian. He was a Christian and served as a counselor to the Patriarch of Antioch. John was also a cousin of the church historian Evagrius Scholasticus, in his role as legal adviser, he was a witness to the Persian king, Khosrau Parvezs retreat into Roman territory, and may have even met the king. Khosrau was restored to the Persian throne by the Roman emperor Maurice, John may have also visited Persia John wrote a history of the Byzantine-Persian wars, from the campaigns of Khosrau I against Justin II, to the flight of his grandson Khosrau II to the Byzantines. The work is lost, but a fragment is preserved, the history was used by Evagrius and Theophylact Simocatta. As with many other Byzantine works, it is written in a form of Greek

10.
Jordanes
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Jordanes, also written Jordanis or, uncommonly, Jornandes, was a 6th-century Roman bureaucrat, who turned his hand to history later in life. While he also wrote Romana about the history of Rome, his work is his Getica. It is the extant ancient work dealing with the early history of the Goths. Jordanes was asked by a friend to write this book as a summary of a history of the Goths by the statesman Cassiodorus. He was selected for his known interest in history, his ability to write succinctly and he had been a high-level notarius, or secretary, of a small client state on the Roman frontier in Scythia Minor, modern south-eastern Romania and north-eastern Bulgaria. Other writers, e. g. Procopius, wrote works which are extant on the history of the Goths. As the only surviving work on Gothic origins, the Getica has been the object of critical review. Jordanes wrote in Late Latin rather than the classical Ciceronian Latin, according to his own introduction, he had only three days to review what Cassiodorus had written, meaning that he must also have relied on his own knowledge. Some of his statements are laconic, Jordanes writes about himself almost in passing, The Sciri, moreover, and the Sadagarii and certain of the Alani with their leader, Candac by name, received Scythia Minor and Lower Moesia. Paria, the father of my father Alanoviiamuth, was secretary to this Candac as long as he lived. Already in the Mommsen text edition of 1882 it was suggested that the long name of Jordanes father should be split into two parts, Alanovii Amuthis, both genitive forms. Jordanes fathers name would then be Amuth, the preceding word should then belong to Candac, signifying that he was an Alan. Mommsen, however, dismissed suggestions to emend a corrupt text, Jordanes writes that he was secretary to Candac, dux Alanorum, an otherwise unknown leader of the Alans. Jordanes was notarius, or secretary to Gunthigis Baza, a magister militum, nephew of Candac, the nature and details of the conversion remain obscure. The Goths had been converted with the assistance of Ulfilas, made bishop on that account, however, the Goths had adopted Arianism. Jordanes conversion may have been a conversion to the trinitarian Nicene creed, in the letter to Vigilius he mentions that he was awakened vestris interrogationibus - by your questioning. Alternatively, Jordanes conversio may mean that he had become a monk, or a religiosus, some manuscripts say that he was a bishop, some even say bishop of Ravenna, but the name Jordanes is not known in the lists of bishops of Ravenna. Jordanes wrote his Romana at the behest of a certain Vigilius, although some scholars have identified this person with pope Vigilius, there is nothing else to support the identification besides the name

11.
Nikephoros I of Constantinople
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St. Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I, was a Christian Byzantine writer and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from April 12,806, to March 13,815. He was born in Constantinople as the son of Theodore and Eudokia, of an orthodox family. Nevertheless, he entered the service of the Empire, became cabinet secretary and he then withdrew to one of the cloisters that he had founded on the eastern shore of the Bosporus, until he was appointed director of the largest home for the destitute in Constantinople c. After the death of the Patriarch Tarasios, although still a layman, after vain theological disputes, in December 814, there followed personal insults. From there he carried on a literary polemic for the cause of the iconodules against the synod of 815, on the occasion of the change of emperors, in 820, he was put forward as a candidate for the patriarchate and at least obtained the promise of toleration. He died at the monastery of Saint Theodore, revered as a confessor and his feast is celebrated on this day both in the Greek and Roman Churches, the Greeks also observe 2 June as the day of his death. He was mild in his ecclesiastical and monastical rules and non-partisan in his treatment of the period from 602 to 769. He used the chronicle of Traianus Patricius, the Chronography offered a universal history from the time of Adam and Eve to his own time. To it he appended a canon catalog, the catalog of the accepted books of the Old and New Testaments is followed by the antilegomena and the apocrypha. Next to each book is the count of its lines, his stichometry, to which we can compare our accepted texts and this is especially useful for apocrypha for which only fragmentary texts have survived. Nikephoros follows in the path of John of Damascus, list of Catholic saints The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press,1991. Paul J. Alexander, The Patriarch Nicephorus of Constantinople, Oxford University Press,1958, development of the Canon of the New Testament, the Stichometry of Nicephorus St. Nicephorus

12.
George Pachymeres
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Georgius Pachymeres, a Byzantine Greek historian, philosopher and miscellaneous writer. Pachymeres was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, where his father had taken refuge after the capture of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204, the History was first published in print by I. Bekker in the Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae, also by J. P. Migne, in Patrologia Graeca, for editions of the minor works see Karl Krumbacher, a more recent edition with French translation of the History by Failler and Laurent was published in 1984. An English translation of Books I and II, with commentary, from Clear Fulfillment to Complex Prophecy, the History of the Adventist Interpretation of Revelation 9, from 1833 to 1957. Andrews University Digital Commons@Andrews University Masters Theses Graduate Research, attribution, This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Pachymeres, Georgius. A Translation and Historical Commentary of Book One and Book Two of the Historia of Georgius Pachymeres, phD dissertation, University of Western Australia. Opera Omnia by Migne Patristica Graeca with analytical indexes G. Pachymeres, Hierocles and Philagrios, Declamationes XIII, G. Pachymeris, De Michaele et Andronico Paleologis, Bonn,1835

13.
Peter the Patrician
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Peter the Patrician was a senior East Roman or Byzantine official, diplomat, and historian. A well-educated and successful lawyer, he was sent as envoy to Ostrogothic Italy in the prelude to the Gothic War of 535–554. Despite his diplomatic skill, he was not able to avert war, upon his release, he was appointed to the post of magister officiorum, head of the imperial secretariat, which he held for an unparalleled 26 years. His historical writings survive only in fragments, but provide unique source material on early Byzantine ceremonies, after studying law, he embarked on a successful career as a lawyer in Constantinople, which brought him to the attention of Empress Theodora. In 534, on account of his skills, he was employed as an imperial envoy to the Ostrogothic court at Ravenna. At the time, a struggle was developing there between Queen Amalasuntha, regent to the young king Athalaric, and her cousin Theodahad. Following the death of Athalaric, Theodahad usurped the throne, imprisoned Amalasuntha, Peter met the envoys at Aulon, on his way to Italy, and notified Constantinople, seeking new instructions. Emperor Justinian ordered him to convey the message to Theodahad that Amalasuntha was under the Emperors protection, consequently, Peter returned to Italy in the summer of 535 conveying an ultimatum, only if Theodahad abdicated and returned Italy to imperial rule, could war be averted. A two-pronged Byzantine offensive followed soon thereafter, attacking the outlying possessions of the Ostrogothic kingdom, Belisarius took Sicily, in the event, Justinian rejected the first proposal, and was delighted to learn of the second one. Peter was sent back to Italy with Athanasius, bearing letters to Theodahad and the Gothic nobles and it was not to be, upon their arrival in Ravenna, the Byzantine envoys found Theodahad in a changed disposition. Supported by the Gothic nobility and buoyed up by a success against Mundus in Dalmatia, he resolved to resist and he would hold this post for 26 consecutive years, longer by a wide margin than any other before or after. At about the time or shortly thereafter, he was raised to the supreme title of patrician. He was also awarded an honorary consulship, Peter is also recorded as attending the Second Council of Constantinople in May 553. In 550, he was sent as envoy by Justinian to negotiate a treaty with Persia, a role he reprised in 561. The annual Roman subsidies to Persia would resume, but the amount was lowered from 500 to 420 pounds of gold. Further clauses regulated cross-border trade, which was to be limited to the two cities of Dara and Nisibis, the return of fugitives, and the protection of the religious minorities. As disagreements remained on two areas, Suania and Ambros, in spring 562, Peter travelled to Persia to negotiate directly with the Persian Shah, Chosroes I. He then returned to Constantinople, where he died sometime after March 565 and his son Theodore, nicknamed Kontocheres or Zetonoumios, would succeed him as magister officiorum in 566, after a brief interval where the post was held by the quaestor sacri palatii Anastasius

14.
Priscus
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Priscus of Panium was a 5th-century Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician. Priscus was born in Panion between 410-420 AD, in 448/449 AD, he accompanied Maximinus, the head of the Byzantine embassy representing Emperor Theodosius the Younger, on a diplomatic mission to the court of Attila the Hun. While there, he met and conversed with a Greek merchant, dressed in Scythian fashion, the trader explained to Priscus that after the sack of Viminacium, he was a slave of Onegesius, a Hunnic nobleman, but obtained his freedom and chose to settle among the Huns. Priscus ultimately engaged in a debate with the Greek defector regarding the qualities of life, after an interlude in Rome, Priscus traveled to Alexandria and the Thebaid in Egypt. He last appeared in the East, circa 456, attached to the staff of Euphemios as Emperor Marcians magister officiorum, Priscus was the author of an eight-volume historical work, written in Greek, entitled the History of Byzantium, which was probably not the original title name. The History probably covered the period from the accession of Attila the Hun to the accession of Emperor Zeno, priscuss work currently survives in fragments and was very influential in the Byzantine Empire. Priscuss writing style is straightforward and his work is regarded as a contemporary account of Attila the Hun, his court. Priscus recount of a dinner with Attila the Hun Priscus recount of a dinner with Attila the Hun was at, but this one was said to be supposedly greater than the rest. Made for celebration due to it being constructed of polished wood. Priscus entered the house the following day bearing gifts to Attilas wife and her name was Kreka who had three sons. The dinner was at three O’clock, Priscus and the embassy of Western Romans, were placed at the end of the table farthest from Attila but still in his presence, this was to show a means of Attila being greater than the Roman guest. That to Priscus, Attila considered his people were more important than Prius, as Priscus and the Western Roman embassy stood, they followed the cultural tradition of being given tea from the cupbearers. They were to pray and have a drink before having a seat at the table, Attila sat in the middle of the couch, with the seats being arranged linear to the walls. As the seating arrangement went on the side of Attila was held for the Chiefs in honor. With the everyone else including Priscus and the Roman embassies on the left, following the seating, everyone was to raise a glass to pledge one another with wine. Once the Cupbearers left another attendant came in with a plate of meat, followed by other items of food such as bread, all of the food was served on plates of silver and gold. Prius also notes that Attila didn’t use any silver or gold plates but instead used a cup made of wood, once the first round was finished, they stood and then drank again to the health of Attila. Once evening arrived torches were lite and songs that were composed of Attilas victories were sung, the remaining works of Priscus are currently published in four collections, Given, John

15.
Procopius
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Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent late antique scholar from Palaestina Prima. He is commonly held to be the last major historian of the ancient Western world, apart from his own writings, the main source for Procopius life is an entry in the Suda, a Byzantine encyclopaedia, written sometime after 975, which tells everything about his early life. He was a native of Caesarea in the Roman Province Palaestina Prima and he evidently knew Latin, as was natural for a man with legal training. In 527, the first year of Eastern Roman Emperor Justinians reign, he became the adsessor for Belisarius, Procopius was with Belisarius on the eastern front until the latter was defeated at the Battle of Callinicum in 531 and recalled to Constantinople. Procopius witnessed the Nika riots of January,532, which Belisarius, Procopius recorded a few of the extreme weather events of 535–536, although these were presented as a backdrop to Roman military activities, such as a mutiny, in and near Carthage. He rejoined Belisarius for his campaign against the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy and experienced the Gothic siege of Rome that lasted a year and nine days and he witnessed Belisarius entry into the Gothic capital, Ravenna, in 540. Book Eight of the Wars of Justinian, and the Secret History, suggest that his relationship with Belisarius seems to have cooled thereafter. When Belisarius was sent back to Italy in 544 to cope with a renewal of the war with the Goths, now led by the able king Totila, Procopius appears to have no longer been on Belisarius staff. As magister militum, Belisarius was a vir illustris, and Procopius, as his adsessor, must and he thus belonged to the middle-ranking group of the ordo senatorius. However, the Suda, which is well informed in such matters. Should this information be correct, then Procopius had a seat in the senate of Constantinople and it is not known when Procopius himself died, and many historians date his death to 554, but in 562 there was an urban prefect of Constantinople who happened to be called Procopius. In that year, Belisarius was implicated in a conspiracy and was brought before this urban prefect, the writings of Procopius are the primary source of information for the rule of the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian. Procopius Wars of Justinian is clearly his most important work, although it is not as known as the Secret History. The first two deal with the conflict between the Romans and Sassanid Persia in Mesopotamia, Syria, Armenia, Lazica and Caucasian Iberia. They also cover the early career of the Roman general Belisarius, Procopius patron, the next two books, the Vandal War, cover Belisarius successful campaign against the Vandal kingdom in Roman Africa. The remaining books cover the Gothic War, the campaigns by Belisarius and others to recapture Italy and this includes accounts of the sieges of Naples and Rome. Later, Procopius added a book, which brings the history to 552/553. This eighth book covers both in Italy and on the Eastern frontier

16.
Michael Psellos
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This article is about the 11th-century Byzantine historian and philosopher. For the 9th-century Byzantine Emperor with the byname Psellus, see Michael II, Michael Psellus the Elder redirects here and is covered below under Pseudo-Psellus. Michael Psellos or Psellus was a Byzantine Greek monk, writer, philosopher and he was born in 1017 or 1018, and is believed to have died in 1078, although it has also been maintained that he remained alive until 1096. The main source of information about Psellos life comes from his own works, Michael Psellos was probably born in Constantinople. His family hailed from Nicomedia and, according to his own testimony, counted members of the consular and his baptismal name was Constantine, Michael was the monastic name he chose when he entered a monastery later in life. Psellos probably was a personal by-name referring to a speech defect, Michael Psellos was educated in Constantinople. At around the age of ten, he was sent to work outside the capital as a secretary of a provincial judge, when his sister died, he gave up that position and returned to Constantinople to resume his studies. While studying under John Mauropus, he met the later Patriarchs Constantine Leichoudes and John Xiphilinos, for some time, he worked in the provinces again, now serving as a judge himself. Some time before 1042 he returned again to Constantinople, where he got a position at court as a secretary in the imperial chancellery. From there he began a rapid court career and he became an influential political advisor to emperor Constantine IX Monomachos. During the same time, he became the professor at the University of Constantinople. After Monomachos death, however, he was recalled to court by his successor. Throughout the following years, he remained active in politics, serving as a political advisor to several successive emperors. However, Michael seems to have been inclined towards protecting Psellos. As his own autobiographic accounts cease at this point, there is little information about his later years. Some scholars believe that Psellos had to retreat into a monastery again at some time during the 1070s and it is a history of the Byzantine emperors during the century leading up to Psellos own time. It covers the reigns of fourteen emperors and empresses, beginning with the almost 50-year-long reign of Basil II, the Bulgar-Slayer and it is structured mainly as a series of biographies. Unlike most other works of the period, it places much more emphasis on the description of characters than on details of political

17.
Zacharias Rhetor
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Zacharias of Mytilene, also known as Zacharias Scholasticus or Zacharias Rhetor, was a bishop and ecclesiastical historian. The life of Zacharias of Mytilene can be reconstructed only from a few scattered reports in contemporary sources, Zacharias was born and raised in a Christian family near Gaza, which hosted a significant school of rhetorics in late antiquity. That was also where he received his initial education, in 485, he travelled to Alexandria, where he studied philosophy for two years. In Alexandria, he was embroiled in a conflict between Christians and Pagans in connection with the Horapollo affair and it was also there he met Severus, who was later to become a notable patriarch of Antioch. Zacharias travelled in 487 to Beirut to study law at its law school and he stayed there, leading a very ascetic life, until 491, but he also made several journeys to different parts of Palestine in search for religious knowledge. He finally moved to Constantinople, where he worked as a lawyer for a long time, Zacharias, who was leaning towards moderate Monophysitism, seems to have often played with the thought of becoming a monk. He apparently had good contacts with the Imperial court and that won him the appointment as Bishop of Mytilene. His successor is known to have taken the post in 553 and he was certainly alive in 536, as he took part in the Synod in Constantinople that year. Zacharias composed several works in Greek, among which an Ecclesiastical history that was completed towards the end of the 5th century. The document, dedicated to Eupraxius, a dignitary, contains historical material. It was used by Evagrius Scholasticus for his own history, Zacharias also composed three biographies of Monophysitic clergymen that he had met personally, the above-mentioned Severus, Peter the Iberian and the Egyptian monk Isaiah the Younger. The biographies have been preserved with varying quality, Zacharias also wrote several polemic works, e. g. against the philosopher Ammonius Hermiae and against the Manichaeans. The first English translation of Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor was published in 1899 under the title The Syriac Chronicle by F. J. Hamilton and it was part of a five-volume series, Byzantine Texts, edited by J. B. A new English translation was published by Liverpool University Press in 2011 under the title The Chronicle of Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, Church, edited by Geoffrey Greatrex and translated into English by Robert R. Phenix and Cornelia B. Horn, it consists of a translation of books 3-12 of Historia Miscellanea, the Chronicle of Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor, Church and War in Late Antiquity. Historia ecclesiastica Zachariae Rhetori vulgo adscripta, die sogennante Kirchengeschichte des Zacharias Rhetor. Transl. by K. Ahrens & G. Krüger, the Syriac Chronicle known as that of Zachariah of Mitylene. Transl. by F. J. Hamilton & E. W. Brooks, P. Allen, Zachariah Scholasticus and the Historia Ecclesiastica of Evagrius

Theodorus likely witnessed the destruction of the Hagia Sophia during the Nika riots in 532. He had previously been a reader at the basilica. Shown here are the remains of sculpture work adorning the old church as Theodorus knew it.